The Thunderbird, a horrible guardian encountered
by Link in the Great Palace of
Zelda 2,
has somehow survived and is out for revenge. Having lost
the Triforce of Courage at the hands of its adversary, it
has stolen the Triforce of Power and flown to the vast
neighbor of Hyrule, the Outlands. In a world similar to
yet completely different from
Zelda 1,
Link must track down the captured Tetrarch
Fairies and, with their help, break open Ganon's secret
golden vault where the creature now resides.

Link will face dangers and traps unlike anything Ganon
had ever devised. His adventure will span 18 new dungeons
hidden within a completely unfamiliar terrain. Zelda
herself will make appearances to help the hero, providing
items and sage advice crucial to the new journey. Link
has become very skilled in his familiar world of Hyrule,
but skill alone is his only advantage -- the land of the
Outlands is a beautiful yet deadly world bearing no
resemblence to his own cherished kingdom.

The old world map has been completely overwritten by the
new one. You are guaranteed not to recognize any
locations from the previous game. You'll even start your
quest on the west side of the game, instead of the south!
The color selections of each screen are new, meaning that
what was once brown could now be green or grey, or even
red if you travel deep enough into the world. The places
where screens are re-used have changed, such as where you
use a stepladder to reach a heart, and fairy ponds.

The locations of
secrets, such as dungeon entrances, shops, and residents
with clues are changed. Thought you knew which screen to
find Level 1 on? Think again! Even the 4 shortcuts (found
by pushing rocks) are in new places! And when Link exits
these caves and structures, he doesn't just pop out onto
the places where the old caves used to be. New exit
coordinates have been set to reflect the new passages.

Secrets are now
locked according to what quest you're playing. For example,
the rock you push to find a dungeon won't move on the
second quest, so you have to find a new entrance
somewhere else in the world. The game allows each secret
to be set to 1st Quest, 2nd Quest, both, or neither. So,
many places where you can bomb, burn, push things and use the
recorder are quest-specific.

The "waves"
sound effect has been moved to a new beach on the
opposite side of the overworld. Each of the shops sell
new combinations of items, including the bow and the
white sword. The prices of all items have also been
changed.

The monsters are
distributed differently now, sometimes even with new
graphics to trick the player. You might find red bats
that cannot be hurt unless they stop moving, because
they're really those flying flower creatures. There are
new places to find fairies, though a few of the ponds are
far from convenient to visit. The monsters may simply
appear (poof!) or walk in from the sides, depending on
the new terrain. Most of the monsters have new graphics
(including all bosses) and some even have new colors.

The screens where you
can wake up a statue to reveal a stairway have been
changed, as have the locations where the recorder can
open passages. And whenever the recorder doesn't open
passages, magic dust (like Zelda 64) will wisk you to a
different location. The stepladder can be used in new
places, and not on the screens where you used to use it.

There are 42 possible
block, water & statue arrangements for the many
dungeon rooms, and all but 3 are brand new. Examples of
the old "rooms" include the entrance with the
many statues, one with a horizontal river across the top
half, boss rooms, the Triforce room, and many others. The
usage of all these rooms in dungeons is also different.

The other aspect of
designing new dungeons lies with the four directions of
each room. It's possible to control which are always
open, which slam shut when you enter, which are locked,
which can be bombed open, which are false walls, which
are false walls that play a tune when you pass through
them, and which are real walls. As for the gates that
shut behind you, sometimes they will open again when the
monsters are all defeated, and sometimes by some other
means. And then there are gates that close behind you and
never open again, which are great for one-way passages.

Each dungeon has its
own new color scheme. The new palettes give the underworld an
entirely new atmosphere... Even some of the monsters (including
bosses) have new colors.

The game allows for
any item to show up in any dungeon room. Will there be
bombs, or 5 rupees, or a heart container? The items are
distributed in a totally new manner.

In ZeldaC, the old man
has been replaced by Zelda; now she will be the one giving
you advice in dungeons, as well as occasional items! Just
don't hit her or she will shoot back! And no, you
won't be rescuing her in the last dungeon...

Each of the dungeons
in ZeldaC has a map that can be displayed in the upper
left corner of the screen. No matter the shape or
appearance of the underworld maze, the map represents it
accurately (except for certain hidden rooms).
Just like in the original game, Link is
able to draw out the parts of the labyrinth he has
actually visited, without data from the original game's
maps interfering. If the compass is found, it will point
out exactly where the captive Tetrarch fairy is with
respect to Link's position.

Stairs can be pointed
to other stairs, or to side-view item rooms, and can be associated
with any of the regular dungeon rooms. The items in the
item rooms can be changed to different items, and items
can even be placed in tunnel rooms! Also, it's possible
to control exactly where Link appears in any given room
after exiting a side-view room.

This version is the same as the "first and final"
release, except with necessary changes made to it.
A list of bugs fixed is included.

The reason there are "options" at all is
because I've designed a complete instruction booklet to
go with the game. It includes a story with pictures,
hints and tips, a sketched map of the overworld, and even
some critical information regarding situations not found
in the original game.

This game manual is written in html, with screen shots,
icons, and more. It's really user-friendly, and you don't
even have to be online to use it. Just unzip the contents
of "manual.zip" to a folder on your computer,
and then double-click index.htm. Chances are, you'll be
impressed! :)

Due to its larger size, I've made the manual optional.
Keep in mind that it's the only real "readme"
for the game now, and that it's cool and very helpful.

Here are a few links to visit if you get
hopelessly stuck while playing the game. Also, you can
email me for custom hints.

Hints and Reminders
- This is a short, humorous document written by ChibiDelenn. Though it might
seem vague at times, it may trigger an idea for uncovering something you're
searching for in the game. Best of all, it's spoiler-free!

ZeldaC FAQ
- This is list of questions and answers I've compiled. There are plenty of
other questions one could ask, but these are the most common.
Don't read any of its entries unless you're hopelessly stuck!